S-M-“U”?

By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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We have all concerns. We all have questions. The death penalty just doesn’t seem like the right answer, now or ever again.

Miami football is in a bad place. Long known for attitude, bravado and swagger, those tones have quickly darkened. Just a few short weeks ago, new head coach Al Golden’s upbeat personality had brought color to a program that previously regressed to an atypically bland style of play. Consider that flower now wilted.

When the sheer shock and awe of the magnitude and extent of the scandal, featuring former booster Nevin Shapiro both at the beginning and the end, slowly started to wear off, the focus now sharpens on a much more complex and controversial matter: punishment. Eyeing all accounts is an organization recently criticized for their lack of consistenty and, at times, their lack of severity. The NCAA has a extremely difficult job. The scope of their jurisdiction is definied, yet widespread. The depth of their oversight is significant. With such a realm comes a struggle for precedent and consistency.

Recent violations, some less clear than others, at the likes of Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Ohio State and Southern Cal have forced the NCAA to make tough decisions. The lone consensus in those rulings has been a disgruntled fan base shaking their collective head in disbelief. With allegations of big money, big-time access and ties to strippers, sex clubs and abortion, this will be the NCAA’s most dynamic challenge yet.

Their first priotity is one of research and investigation. Seems premature to discuss what we are discussing until more has proven. That process could take months. Meanwhile, Miami football will debut their 2011 season soon on a nationally-televised Labor Day clash with ACC foe Maryland. Some current players on the team have been mentioned in reports. Regadless of what happens with the Terrapins in College Park, there is already a deep feeling of loss in Coral Gables.

With dramatic violations must come consequences that match. Some, even select members of the national media, have argued that the NCAA’s death penalty could and should be a very real option. The harshest punishment a school can receive, the dealth penalty bans a specific program for competing for at least one year. The NCAA has only made this ruling five times in history and only once in football with Southern Methodist University. The Mustangs were force to cease and desist in 1987 and 1988.

The on-field effect is catastrophic. SMU went 45-5-1 from 1981-1984. They would win 13 games total from 1989-1995. It would take until 2009 for a return to the postseason. In that ’89 season, the Mustangs allowed 49 points to Baylor, 95 points to Houston, 63 to Texas A&M and 59 to Notre Dame. In the three years after the death penalty, SMU would be outscored by a total of 1,284 to 525. Their lone wins would come against Connecticut, North Texas, Vanderbilt and Tulane.

While other factors were certainly at play, the demise of the Mustangs was one of the key cracks in the crumbling of the old Southwest Conference. The blow, leaguewide, was too fierce to absorb. Despite being located in the powerful Dallas market, reeling SMU ended up as a member of the Western Athletic Conference while the other powerful Texas programs formed the core of the Big 12 and Arkansas moved to the SEC. The death penalty not only made the Mustages irrelevant across the country and in the Lonestore State, SMU got swallowed right up in their home city of Dallas.

College football has evolved in ways few could have projected in the 20 plus years since. The media, the money, the madness is on a completely different level. Some of the parralels, however, have remarkable similarities. Miami, though not in the last few years, has traditionally been one of the top program’s in the game. An NFL factory, they won a national championship as recently as 2001. They are a key piece of the puzzle in a growing conference apprehensively viewing the upcoming expansion whirlwind with optimism. The league has strategically placed media markets and potentially stands primed to again take the best of the Big East in a conference-switcharoo. Miami, dramatically-redefined, would abrubtly re-position the ACC. In addition to making the league much less appealing to networks, the death penalty could make power-players like Clemson and Florida State think twice. Ramifications would not only extend pass Coral Gables, but all the way from Tallahassee up to Boston.

Like with Southern Methodist, there would be the problem of localization. Ala the Mustangs, the Hurricanes are in a metropolitan area with many options outside UM football. Miami has the Dolphins, Heat, Marlins, Panthers and a humbling array of social and recreational options; for a program that already struggles to fill seats in an off-campus, multi-purpose stadium, two years of out of sight and out of mind could serve as a devastating tipping point.

The death penalty would have an obvious financial impact on the university. Football games and the spotlight and attention that come with them provides invaluable marketing and, ultimately, income. Though Miami is a major city, there would be some economic fallout from the removal of football in Coral Gables. The big picture here is one worth seeing.

Many have fond memories of a Miami program that was the story in college football for roughly two decades. While there has, at times, been a dim side to Hurricane football, the overall brand is one most can relate to. The “U” has long stood for energy, enthusiasm, passion and pride; family, fraternity, solidarity and tradition. The ‘Canes have unquestionably had their problems, but for a program that has less all-time major violations than the likes of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Witchita State and stands tied with Texas Pan-American, it’s fair to wonder if the on-field sentiment sometimes blends into the off-field perception. UM is tied for 18th on the aforementioned list.

From the smoke in the tunnel to the fire on the field, Miami football has a unique, yet prominent, place in the history of the game — like it or not.

The recent allegations frustrated and sadden fans who keep their view of college football, one of true amauterism, competition and scholastic achievement, close to heart. This is not the sport any of us want to hand down to our children. Miami must pay for the violations they have committed and unfair advantages they have received. We have all concerns. We all have questions. The death penalty just doesn’t seem like the right answer, now or ever again.

Most of those mentioned in the reports, most notably Shapiro, are now completely removed from the situation. A program, a school, a community, a conference would pay the ultimate price — one that could have widespread ripple effects for a college football landscape already lacking stability. Firings, fines, reductions and bans would all effect a vast majority of people disassociated with the scandal. There is no right answer. That said, a strong, stern, culture-changing example can and should be made without destroying an institution thousands have dedicated their lives to build.

Miami football has a history as colorful and vibrant as any. Punish the program, flip the switch on a future that previously seemed bright. For a passionate fan base, a proud school and an invested region, don’t turn orange and green to black.